Beautiful June weather

The day was so beautiful that straight after school we took the boys out for a bike ride at Western Springs as it has a great track and then popped down to Campbells Bay beach. The early mornings are winter cold, frost on the ground, but during the day when the sun is out it could be summer. Strange but very nice.

Close Encounter of the Bird Kind + DJ Puffle

Whilst we were at the zoo, by chance, they were feeding the birds milk and Alex pushed his way to the front so he could have some. Something we never thought he would do but he has soon learnt living here! Also, Alex climbed up some rocks to reach the birds to feed them to Tom's horror, you can't touch things off the path! Amazingly the birds dived into the milk and one particular bird was tame enough to jump on Al's jacket and peck it. Alex was so chuffed.

Tom loves the DJ section in Club Penguin and I couldn't let him DJ without some headgear. Please note the puffles as headphones. Cool as Bro.

The Zoo

The weather continues to be beautiful so we decided to make the most of it and head to the zoo. Funny enough, Tom mentioned it the other day so he was going to enjoy himself! He insisted we bought him a map and he was going to guide us. Tom certainly looked the part.

How things have changed? Jack will like this. Alex leaned on the post and said,"Why did I bother putting on this for if there are no women here?' He's seven!

The boys are into taking photographs so here is the best two, tiger by Tom and the kangaroo/wallaby is by Al. Ollie was having an off day, he had my bug so I carried him and he certainly was not into taking photographs.

Gymnastics - 15th Anniversary!

We decided to take some photos today because it was the 15th time that the boys have attended gymnastics. The sessions are for 45 minutes and they are going to continue with Alex as an after school activity. They start 'big' school soon! Tom says he must be in daddy's class.

Some of these shots are with assistance but they are surprisingly good already. is particularly agile on the beam and can turn around and walk backwards which is a skill he may need in later life. Ollie loves climbing and will go over and over, the only thing that gets him off is the thought they might get a go on the trampoline.

Singstar and Puffles!

As you can see Tom is very pleased with our purchase of Singstar. Surprisingly the boys really enjoy trying to sing particularly with Queen.

Club Penguin still dominates our lives and now you can purchase Puffles. Evelyn kindly made some for the boys as well. They absolutely love them. These things do everything with them, they drive tanks, take on Ben 10 aliens and make cakes!

Weren't these things in episode of Star Trek?

Booked our skiing holiday!

We are booked to say at 'Howards Lodge' for about 60 pounds a night. It is in the National Park which is 10/15 mins from the ski fields. The mountain is called Ruapehu and is a volcano! It erupted about 3 years ago. Looking forward to seeing 'Mount Doom' LOTR fans!

Harry Potter, Spies and Tidy Bedrooms

We had a book character parade at CBS this week and surprise surprise Alex was Harry Potter.

The children in my class thought he was great and they particularly liked Mr Bailey as James Bond!

The boys are into putting on 'Spy Music' and jumping around doing rolls etc.  They have started play fighting, as spies, as well and this has led to many tears particularly Tom who is not quite ready for these 'to the death' battles.

Mummy has recently reorganised their bedrooms and Tom and Ollie wanted to show the world.  Only hope they can keep it that way. It lasted 25 mins.

Warkworth

I had a soccer game in Warkworth and it was a lovely day so Fran decided to travel up with me to have a look.  It was a lovely drive up and we went straight to the soccer ground.  The boys were particularly pleased as there was a great play area although it was little muddy and it wasn't long before they had to change their clothes.  

I have been injured for the last 3 games and had to introduce myself to the team as they had forgotten who I was.  Don't you just love football team banter!  We lost 2-1.

Bikes

We recently bought the boys some bikes and helmets for a total of about 100 pounds!  However, I did have to put them together so they may fall apart at some point but they are working at the moment.  The boys are really keen and the weather, although cooler, is still pretty good so we try to get them out most days.

I have a route which travels up our clos into a path which takes us through the park and comes round the pony club back to the house.  Its great because its all on a path and has a steep hill to finish where they can practice braking.  Particularly important for Ollie as he believes he doesn't need them.

Bethells Beach Pt 3

The boys had a friend, Aine, with them for the day and it was particularly great for Alex as they got on so well.  They never stopped talking, in fact it was about 10 pm. Alex then woke her up at 6.30 am to finish the conversation, poor thing.

The boys couldn't believe their eyes with a helicopter buzzing around no more than 20 feet off the ground.  A local artist was creating a huge design in the sand and the helicopter was taking photographs.

The 'kite surfer' shot is for Ian Cording who is the only kite surfer I know.  They have a regular TV show here called 'Piha Rescue' because so many people get into trouble on this coast and the surf was ridiculous.  I have never seen surf like it and I do remember my hairdresser in Guernsey talking about the surf on the west coast.  Fran says, 'Come on Grandad Cording, get your butt over here!'  

They even have a coffee house here! I have never drunk so much coffee since we have moved here.  Fran has over 10 different coffee cards and she is selective.  

Bethells Beach Pt 2

When we reached the beach it was stunning and huge.  Teresa and Errol's son, Joe, disappeared with Alex onto the dunes and they spent the whole time climbing and rolling down them.  Even Errol said Alex has really got into it.  Ollie was uncharacteristically quiet as he hates the wind and Tom soldiered on as he always does.